


Good things come in small packages

by Mayonaka_no_Tenshi



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: BYOT (bring your own toothbrush), Canon Universe, Cute, Fantasy, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Seriously I'm not going to pay your dental bills, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, but everything is always okay in the end, but with PochaPom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-05-08 00:29:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14682672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mayonaka_no_Tenshi/pseuds/Mayonaka_no_Tenshi
Summary: Pochayuuri is a mysterious creature, but when he comes into their life Yuuri and Victor quickly accept him and love him. When Pomvic arrives just as mysteriously, they don't hesitate to take him into their family as well. The more the merrier, right?The story of how Pochayuuri and Pomvic came into Victuuri's life and how their arrival just made made all their lives richer.





	1. Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I'm not sure about the current summary, I feel like it needs more but I'm not sure what to say about it. But this story is going to start with both Pochayuuri's and Pomvic's arrival and introduction to living with Yuuri and Victor and from there it will be like a series of one-shots about various instances in their life together, all filled with pure cuteness.

He wakes to pleasant sounds, comforting sounds, both familiar and strange. First he hears birds in the tree as a light breeze rustles the leaves. It must be Spring then, or possibly Summer. As his awareness grows he hears other voices, not only those of the birds or the breeze, but of other creatures. He hears the voices of life carried bright and happy along the breeze to where he slowly begins to rouse from his long long slumber. 

He awakes nestled deep in the roots of the tree. It is an old tree, very old, older than he can remember. Although, he can’t honestly say he remembers much, he has slept so long, dreaming only the dreams of trees, he cannot recall what the waking world was before, when the tree was but a young thing of only several rings, and roots that had not reached near so deep as they are now. The roots have reached deep into the earth now, the rings have multiplied beyond his counting, but the branches remain wide and full of life. 

He wakes slowly, but with each new realization of the world around him he is ever more eager to greet this waking world to see what wonders it holds.

Finally he fully wakes and, formless still, he emerges from within the roots to peer out at the world around him. The sounds are louder now, brighter, sparkling in his hearing as the light of the sun now dazzles his sight.

From here, still sheltered in the safe haven of the many roots beneath the great and ancient tree. He begins to watch the world and take in the inhabitants of it as they wander past. He watches and watches, fascinated by the beings of this waking world and over time he sees that, though every shape that passes by is different in it’s own way, each one almost always seems to fit into one of three basic types. 

First are the ‘big ones’, they stand on two legs and are tall with big voices. They are scary at first but over time he thinks they are not so bad, especially when they smile. Then there are the ‘small ones’ that have the same shapes as the big ones but seem softer with lighter, higher voices, that are not scary at all. They seem happier too, and even when they sometimes cry, he sees that it is usual for them to smile again soon. He likes these ones, and he smiles when they do. 

And third are his favorites though there seem to be many variations, some big, some small, though none as big as the ‘big ones’. They are the ‘friendly ones’ because they seem made to be friends with everyone. They stand on four legs, are fluffy, and almost always happy. They are always together with the ‘big ones’ and the ‘small ones’ and he can see they are friends to the two-legged beings and when they are all together, everyone seems the happiest. 

He continues to watch the comings and goings of the world around him and the beings that pass the large tree and as he watches he notices that not all those that pass are new. Some come again and again, to play, to talk, to eat, or sometimes simply to sit quietly in the wide green area surrounding the large tree.

There are three that he quickly learns to recognize and he always watches when they are there. They are very happy and it makes him happy too. They are two ‘big ones’ and a big brown ‘friendly one’ and he almost never sees one without the other two. 

He likes them and he begins to think he wants to say hello, but somehow he knows that before he can do so, he needs to choose a form. 

He cannot remember the form he had before he went to sleep among the roots of the great tree, so he will have to choose a new form. He begins to think hard about what shape he should take. It is very difficult to decide. He really wants to be like the ‘friendly ones’ because they make everyone happy, but he really loves the ‘small ones’ too and thinks it would be a fine thing to walk on two legs and hold things with the other two.

He thinks and thinks and finally decides he must just become both, and wouldn’t that just be so much better anyway.

He has almost decided the final image for his new form when his favorite three arrive and spread a large cloth beneath the branches of his tree and begin to take out many things from a big basket. Some of the things smell very good.

He sees one of the big ones look directly at the tree, from base to the highest branches. 

“How old do you think this tree is, Victor?” The ‘big one’ with dark hair asks the other.

“Hmm, I don’t know,” the other ‘big one’ says, “It’s been there for as long as I remember and people always said it was older than the city itself. I don’t know if that’s true but it certainly looks like it could be. I couldn’t imagine this park without it though. I always get the feeling like it’s looking out for everyone in the park, like some great protector.”

“Yeah, I get the same feeling,” comes the response from the first ‘big one’, “It’s why I love this park. This tree just makes it feel safe and special,” the ‘big one’ smiles widely and continues to look at the tree with warm brown eyes that remind him of his warm home in the roots of the great tree and with that image he fixes in his mind the final shape of his new form and begins to take on that form. 

It takes a few minutes but there in the safe shadows beneath the tree he takes on his shape, a feeling of warmth filling him with the anticipation of soon entering this new and fascinating world. 

Then, finally, he is in his new body. He can feel the breeze now, and the warmth of the sun overhead. His new ears take in the sounds, his eyes, the light, and behind him his small tail wags in his full happiness. 

Again the delicious smells catch his attention from the small group still near the tree, their attention now focussed on the food before them. 

He takes his first steps forward, testing his new legs and how they hold him upright as he’d imagined them to. More furious wagging accompanies his pleasure at the movement and soon he is moving forward again, following his nose and eyes and ears, right up to the ‘big one’ with the warm brown eyes until he is close enough to tap the being on the arm.

The warm brown eyes are quickly turned on him, widening in surprise, mouth falling open for a moment before speaking, “W–what…?” and then just staring. 

He pokes the ‘big one’ again and then points to what they are holding in their other hand, a large mass of white with a small dark green strip across the bottom. He points again vigorously, “Po!” he says emphatically towards his goal. 

He reaches forward as the object of his focus is finally moved closer. He takes it between his small hands and then takes a big bite, smiling happily, tail wagging. It’s delicious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this little intro as to how Pochayuuri came to be in this world. Please look forward to what happens next!
> 
> Also, if there's anything you want to see Pochayuuri or Pomvic get up to in later chapters, I'm happy to hear any of your ideas or requests, I might write some of them into actual future chapters.


	2. Introductions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy everyone enjoyed the first chapter. I'm having fun writing this. Just thinking about Pocha kills me with cute sometimes. I hope you will enjoy this installment just as much!

Yuuri just stares at the small creature beside him as it eats the onigiri he was just about to eat. 

It is undeniably cute, but utterly strange at the same time. 

“Yuuri?” he hears Victor say.

“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” he asks his fiancé, not sure what answer he hopes to hear.

“Well, if what you’re seeing looks like a cross between a fluffy dog and a small child that bears an uncanny resemblance to you, and somehow seems to even have your glasses, then yes, I believe I am.”

Yuuri just nods in acknowledgement. Victor hadn’t mentioned the light blue shirt or the hat with a face from which two long dark ears protruded, but it was enough to convince him that this might not actually be a hallucination. However, not knowing what else to say he just continues to watch the small creature finish eating and then proceed to clean it’s paws, licking off the remaining grains of rice, before looking up into Yuuri’s eyes again, big smile on it’s face, and arms outstreched, “Pocha, po!” it says excitedly.

Before Yuuri is able to react in any way, Makkachin, who had been off playing a little ways away, finally takes notice of the new arrival. Dashing around where Yuuri is sitting, she puts her nose right up to the mysterious creature. 

Instead of being frightened, it starts laughing, facing the much larger dog, patting her on the head with small exclamations of ‘po’ thrown in, while both creatures tails wag furiously.

Yuuri looks up to meet Victor’s eyes in bafflement, not sure what to do. 

Victor looks almost equally confused, but there’s a smile on his face, “Well, if Makka likes him, he must not be dangerous. And I can’t imagine anything cuter, honestly. Look at him, he even has your eyes!”

Yuuri does look, and though the eyes seem wider and rounder than his, there is a definite resemblance to what he sees in the mirror each day, but that only adds to the strangeness for him. 

A moment later, Makkachin and the new creature have settled and Yuuri sees those big brown eyes turned back on him, “Po?” the small voice asks, head canted slightly. 

“Umm, hi, my name’s Yuuri,” he says putting out his hand. He doesn’t really know what to expect, doesn’t know if it will sniff his hand or shake it, but in the end, neither happen. 

“Pocha!” It says happily and then proceeds to climb up into Yuuri’s lap until it can put its small arms around his middle in what can only be a hug. 

He’s surprised, but almost on instinct he lifts his arms to put them around the creature that is all too quickly stealing his heart, it’s body warm and soft against him. 

He meet’s Victor’s eyes again and the look in them seems to be a mix of amusement and growing affection in the smile he returns, and Yuuri has to admit he feels about the same.

When the small furry bundle finally pulls away a bit, Yuuri gently lifts him up a bit so as to put them face to face. He isn’t too heavy, about the size of a smallish cat, he guesses, and it strikes him as both strange, and strangely right, to be holding this undeniably adorable dog person with his face.

“So,” he says, smiling at the sweet creature, its short legs hanging down, relaxed in his hands, it’s wide eyes taking him in, a slight vibration running through it from the still wagging tail. “What’s your name?”

“Po?” it asks, head canting over again. It’s so cute Yuuri feels like he could cry. 

“Pocha!” he says next and places one small paw on Yuuri’s nose.

Apparently, it isn’t able to say more than ‘po’ or ‘pocha’ so Yuuri isn’t really sure how to take this response, though he can’t hold back the smile that spreads across his face at the small touch. He looks up at Victor for help, “Um, what should we call him?”

Victor puts a finger to his lips in thought, “Hmmm…”

“Well, I guess we can just call him ‘Pocha’, but considering his appearance and such, why don’t we name him Pochayuuri?” He smiles and the newly dubbed Pochayuuri looks over at him too, a smile on his face and tail wagging happily. “See, I think he likes it.”

Yuuri can feel his face heat at the name suggestion but he can’t fault Victor’s logic and the little guy really does seem happy with the choice, “Ok, your name is Pochayuuri, is that okay?”

“Pocha!” comes the happy reply and Yuuri can’t help but laugh. 

“Ok, so you’re Pochayuuri, I’m Yuuri, you’ve met Makkachin,” he points over to the dog still sitting at his side, cheerfully panting as he watches the new arrival too, and Pocha gives a quick ‘po’ in greeting, eliciting a soft ‘wuff’ from Makka.

“But you still haven’t met Victor,” Yuuri adjusts his hands so that Pocha is facing Victor more directly, “This is Victor.”

“Pocha!” he says, tail wagging furiously again, arms reaching out to the new person before him, eager to meet the third member of the small family he’d been watching almost since waking, though, of course, they had no idea about that.

Victor beams as he reaches out to take the little thing from Yuuri, letting it’s soft weight settle into his hold securely before pulling Pochayuuri back towards him until they too can share a warm hug that just seems to fill him up with love and he feels sure he is about to start crying in joy any second now.

He looks over at Yuuri, still holding Pochayuuri close, “Can we keep him?”

Yuuri smiles back, understanding perfectly how Victor feels, “I think it’s up to him, if he wants to come with us, but I would be happy to bring him home for as long as he’d like to stay.”

Somehow they both understand that, however much the little creature looks like a dog or a child, he is neither. He would never be just a simple pet, and it would always be by his choice only that he might stay with them. 

When Pochayuuri finally lessens his hold on Victor in that initial hug, he’s lifted up to meet the blue blue eyes of the smiling face before him. 

“So Pochayuuri, where is it you came from anyway?” Victor asks. He thinks it’s unlikely that such being could go unnoticed for long if he had been wandering around. 

Pochayuuri quickly shifts in Victors hands to turn and point at the large tree, “Po po pocha,” he says. 

“The tree?” Victor asks. 

Pocha nods, tail wagging, “Po!” he says and points again.

Victor meets Yuuri’s eyes again, in awe of this new development. Though Pochayuuri doesn’t speak the way they do, it seems clear he understands them. 

“Do you think he has been living in the tree all this time?” Yuuri asks.

“I don’t know,” Victor says, “But people do say it is very very old. There are local myths that talk of things like sprites, or various nature spirits that would take on different forms and befriend kind locals. I always thought they were kids stories, just happy fantasies, but it would make the most sense if that’s what Pochayuuri is.”

Yuuri moves, shifting around the picnic items so he can sit right next to Victor, his leg pressed right along side his partner’s. Victor set’s Pochayuuri on both their knees so they can both meet his eyes. They both have the same idea and reach a hand out to Pochayuu who lifts both his paws to set one each in the hands extended out to him, laughing as he rocks back slightly, tugging on warm hand encompassing his paws. 

Pocha laughs again to see them smile, he wonders a bit if maybe this could be a new game. He rocks happily back and forward on his bum, completely trusting his new friends’ hold on him. He is so glad he came to say hi, they are so nice and being near them makes him happy. 

Meanwhile, Yuuri meets Victor’s eyes once more, briefly ,and nods.

“Pochayuuri,” Victor starts, “You are free to go back to your tree if you would like, but Yuuri and I would like to invite you to stay with us, for as long as you want. We have food and a nice bed and we will make sure you are safe.” He pauses a moment, looking into the wide brown eyes, magnified by blue rimmed glasses, his heart full of hope, “What would you like to do?”

Pochayuuri, looks at them both briefly, eyes shifting to each of theirs before he carefully stands up on his legs and pulling his paws free, then throws himself forward, arms spread wide in an attempt to hug them both at the same time. 

Both men laugh in joy, and beside them Makkachin too gives a happy bark. 

“Welcome to the family, Pochayuuri!” Victor says, cheeks beginning to hurt from all the smiling.

“Are you still hungry?” Yuuri adds, “We have more food.”

Pochayuuri looks up, his eyes growing impossibly wider at the mention of food. 

“Po!” he says, enthusiastically, and Yuuri soon places another onigiri into his paws.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. I'm hoping to keep a weekly update schedule for this, since the chapters are probably going to stay short and sweet, so their relatively easy to write. I love all of your kudos and comments, it's always great to hear from you guys!


	3. Going Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Yuuri and Victor to pack up the picnic and introduce Pochayuu to his new home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the support so far. I'm really enjoying writing this. Just thinking of Pochayuu kills me with cuteness and there is no better way to die.

Yuuri and Victor are so captivated watching Pochayuuri that they almost forget to eat themselves, but after eating all four of their onigiri their new addition cuddles up to Makkachin and falls asleep. Makka seems content to stay where she is and let him rest, so Yuuri and Victor finally turn to their own food as they continue to marvel of the new arrival.

“Do you really think he’s some kind of tree sprite?” Yuuri asks.

“I have no idea,” Victor says thoughtfully, “but I don’t have any better ideas. I’ve never seen anything like him and that’s the only story I know that might explain things. Whatever he is, it’s clear he’s special.”

“Yeah…” he says softly, looking back at the small bundle, head pillowed against Makkachin as both nap quietly. “What about how he looks though, why does he look like me?” He turns back to Victor, looking slightly concerned. “You said they take different shapes, but why me?”

Victor reaches out to take Yuuri’s hand, “He must see how special you are, just like I do,” he smiles and squeezes his fiancé’s hand. “And you didn’t see, but it looked like he came directly towards us, towards you, right from the start, it’s like he wanted to know us. Maybe he knew we would be able to take care of him.”

Yuuri gives a sigh, resigning himself to the mystery, but smiling anyway, “Well, whatever the reason, I can’t help but be grateful he did come to us. It probably sounds ridiculous, but I feel like our lives are already richer for having him in it.”

They both smile and then begin to eat themselves, enjoying the lovely weather of such a beautiful day.

 

 

Some time later, once almost everything had been cleaned up from their picnic, Yuuri goes to pick up Pochayuuri so they can fold up the picnic blanket and hopefully wake him up just to confirm he really does want to come home with them.

It takes a minute but finally Pocha wakes up giving a big yawn, reaching his paws outwards in a stretch. Yuuri feels himself melt at the cuteness of the action and wonders for the hundredth time how such a creature can exist, it just seems so unreal in it’s purity.

“Pochayuuri?” He asks once the yawn seems finished, “We’re about ready to go, do you still want to come home with us?”

“Po!” comes the reply, along with a fervent nod.

Yuuri smiles. “Ok. I don’t know if you have any posessions, but is there anything you need before we go?”

Pocha cants his head slightly, clearly thinking. A moment later he turns back to the large tree, “Po,” he says, seeming to be pointing at a low branch.

Yuuri walks over to the branch as Pocha keeps pointing. Once they get close, he stretches as if to reach for the branch so Yuuri reaches up and takes hold of a small twig. Pocha then makes a quick pulling motion and looks at Yuuri.

“You want me to pull off this piece of branch?” he asks, confused.

“Po!” comes the confident reply with a repeat of the pulling motion, so Yuuri tugs and feels the twig pull away with only a little resistance. He looks at the small branch and the few leaves attached to it, then looks to Pocha who is reaching out for the branch.

Handing it over, Pocha gives another soft “Po,” which Yuuri takes as a ‘thank you’. “You’re welcome. Are you ready to go now?”

After another ‘po po’ in answer they go back towards where Victor has just finished packing up the last of their picnic items.

“What do you have there Pocha?” Victor asks, smiling down at the adorable pair.

Pocha lifts his paws, still holding the branch and shows it off.

“Oh, that’s a very nice little branch. Shall we go home and put it in some water?”

Pocha seems as though he’d like nothing better so with no further ado, they head home, their little family now one member larger.

 

 

Yuuri holds Pochayuuri all the way back to the apartment and all the way Pocha keeps ahold of the small branch.

He looks out in wonder at the world he was unable to see from where the tree stood. It is all so different from anything he’s ever known but it all fascinates him. His eyes are wide and round to see the roads and houses, and especially the cars which, to him, seem like noisy, shiny monsters that speed by without warning.

Despite all the new things, he feels safe in Yuuri’s arms, sure that this new friend will not let any monsters, shiny or otherwise, do anything to hurt him.

It isn’t long before they arrive home, Victor unlocking the door and letting Yuuri and Pochayuuri in after Makkachin dashes in first.

A few minutes after that and they have the small branch in some water, Pocha patting the leaves softly once he’s satisfied with the arrangement. They put it in a nice sunny spot and then move to the living room and settle on the couch.

Yuuri sets Pocha down to stand on the cushions between him and Victor.

Pocha just stands there for a moment, looking down at the fabric beneath his little feet, before lifting a foot to tap at the surface gently. He soon realizes the surface is slightly springy and begins to bounce, smile widening and dark ears giving little flips at the end. Encouraged by these first efforts he begins to jump harder so that he is rising a couple inches off the cushion, ears now lifting completely off his head as his body returns to the surface and pressing back down to his head as he takes flight again, delighted little po’s and other almost giggly sounds of glee emerging with each bounce.

He soon begins to move towards Yuuri, showing off his height as he bounces forward, but when he misses his footing as he lands again, he tumbles straight towards Yuuri’s lap. Before he can crash face first into Yuuri’s thigh, however, two hands catch him mid-fall and lift him back upright and carrying him over to sit comfortable in Yuuri’s lap instead.

Pocha leans back a bit till his smile meets the one above him, “Po!” he giggles out, kicking his legs and waving his arms about in happiness.

Yuuri laughs in return, “Maybe later, you need to be careful though, I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

Yuuri then gently straightens Pochayuu’s hat and glasses that had gone askew with all the bouncing.

Victor moves over to join Yuuri, looking down at the sweet creature in his lap and taking hold of one small paw between his fingers, stroking it slightly as wide brown eyes turned towards him. “Welcome to our home Pocha, you’re part of the family now.”

Pocha looks at each of them, back and forth between the two pairs of eyes smiling down on him.

“Po!” he says and smiles too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All your kudos and comments bring light to my day and I hope this little story brings some light into yours! Wishing you all the best!!


	4. New Environments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pochayuu is very curious, and sometimes this causes a bit of trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a bit late but it wasn't originally so long. I got started with the editing and then decided I wanted to add more detail, but that takes time and I've had a busy week. Still, it's done now and I hope you enjoy it!

While both Yuuri and Victor are quite happy to have added Pochayuu to their small family, the day soon descends into a bit of chaos.

Pocha is certainly not an animal or a child but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t aspects of him that strongly suggest otherwise.

It is quickly apparent that he has a voracious curiosity combined with a clear lack of understanding for the world around him that has a tendency to quickly land him in harms way, which means he needs almost constant monitoring.

At first Yuuri and Victor think they’ll be able to just give him some activity to occupy him for a little while, while they take care of a few other things around the house, thinking it might be nice for him to settle in a bit without them hovering. It isn’t until the third large crash of some object falling, this time followed by Pocha’s loud scream of terror, that it’s decided he absolutely cannot be left unattended.

 

 

Pocha really doesn’t mean to cause any trouble. He really likes the book with colorful pictures of ‘friendly ones’ he has now learned are called dogs, and spends a few minutes looking at the pages, but when he looks up he always notices something new and his curiosity just won’t let him ignore it.

The first is Victor’s set of keys that he’d left on the coffee table, too distracted by Pocha to put them in their place by the door. They are shiny and strange shaped and there are a few colorful things on the largest ring as well.

Without a thought Pocha climbs up onto the table by way of a couple sofa pillows stacked up. At first he simply studies these new things, poking at the shiny surfaces until they move and he can look a little closer. Then he picks them up by the big ring in the center. They make such a pleasant noise when he shakes them, so he begins to shake them harder and harder, delighting in the boisterous jangling he’s creating. But then he gives an especially hard shake and they fly out of his paws to come crashing down on the table with a loud sound that shocks a startled squeak out of him.

Yuuri comes in a second later to investigate the small crash of keys on the table. Pocha knows he has been caught at his game when he was supposed to be looking at the book and he hides his face behind his paws.

Yuuri doesn’t really say anything though, he just picks up Pochayuu, settling him in one arm, then picks up the keys. “Come on, let’s put these away, we don’t want them to get lost.”

Yuuri puts the keys back in their place by the front door and then carries Pocha back into the kitchen where he’d been doing some cleaning. He walks over to a drawer and pulls something out before walking back over to the table and setting Pocha down on top of it.

“You really shouldn’t be sitting up here but it will probably be easier for me to keep an eye on you this way,” he says smiling, before holding out a set of colorful plastic measuring spoons. “Here, you can play with these if you want and I’ll go get your book.”

Yuuri leaves and returns a few seconds later with the promised book, still open to the page Pocha had been on when he got distracted. When Yuuri walks away again to continue his cleaning, Pocha takes a closer look at the spoons in his hands.

They are very pretty and he likes the way they fit together so nicely. He continues to play with them for a few minutes before deciding to return to his book.

He is about to turn the page when something else on the table catches his eye and distracts him once again from his original purpose.

He crawls over to the object: a shiny silver dome, and as he gets closer he sees a shape moving in it, getting bigger as he gets closer. The shape he sees looked somewhat familiar but it’s a little fuzzy. He cants his head, looking at it and sees the shape do the same. He raises his paw and when the image does the same too he realizes it’s himself he’s seeing. He can see his blue glasses, his white hat, and his blue shirt.

He waves again and smiles to see the image wave back giving a pleased “po” at his discovery. He then reaches out to touch the strange round surface. It moves backwards, sliding slightly on the table’s surface. Delighted to find that the dome is not attached to the table he goes to pick it up between his paws in order to play with it some more.

Unfortunately it is a little to wide for him to pick up between his short arms and it soon slips out of his grasp. He scrambles to hold on but that just sends it slipping out far enough to fall right off the edge of the table so that the metal bowl gives a loud clang against the tiled floor, bouncing loudly several times before coming to a rest.

Pocha gives a sharp squeak of alarm at the first crash before shoving his paws to his ears and closing his eyes tight against the loud banging.

Yuuri is at the table a moment later taking in the bowl, which has finally settled, and the startled Pocha still clutching his ears tight.

“It’s okay,” he says as he picks Pocha up again hoping to help him relax.

Pocha does relax once he feels himself back in the safety of Yuuri’s arms. He opens his eyes and look down to where the bowl is and then up at Yuuri, eyes wide. “Pocha,” he says apologetically.

“What happened?” Victor asks walking in just then, a worried look in his eyes.

“It’s nothing,” Yuuri answers, “Pocha just dropped a bowl, but everything’s fine.” He says to reassure both Victor and Pocha as he gently pets Pocha’s head. “Still, maybe the table isn’t such a good place for him. Why don’t we put a movie on for him?”

Victor nodded and heads to the living room to look over their movie collection and find something appropriate for Pocha.

“Do you still want your book or are you done with it?” Yuuri asks.

“Po po po,” Pocha answers, reaching a paw back to where the book still lay.

Yuuri picks it up and carries them both back into the living room, and then depositing them on the couch.

“Okay, you look at your book and Victor will put a movie on for you.”

“Po!” comes the reply as Pocha becomes absorbed in the bright pictures once again, that is, until he hears music and sees moving pictures come up on the previously black screen in front of the sofa.

“There you go,” Victor says, “You just watch that for a while and when Yuuri and I are finished with the chores we’ll come watch the rest with you, okay?”

There’s no answer this time because Pocha is fully absorbed in the moving images on the screen.

Victor just smiles, wanting to just join him now and share in his wonder, but he resists and just resolves to finish what he needs to do quickly.

Pocha’s attention stays focused on the movie for a full fifteen minutes until a slow section allows his attention to drift just a bit, his eyes shifting to land on something right next to the tv.

A moment later he has clambered down from the couch and is standing in front of a tall rack where many flat colorful things are stacked up far above Pocha’s head.

He puts out a paw and touches them carefully, but they don’t move at all. They are shaped kind of like the book and he wonders if there are more interesting pictures inside one of these things.

He tries to pull one out, but he can’t get a good enough grip on the one he’s chosen.

In the end, he’s not sure how it happens but in his determination to free one of the book-like objects he suddenly feels the whole rack begin to fall towards him.

He gives a panicked scream, sure he is about to be crushed, and reflexively curls into a ball to protect himself.

Fortunately this action rolls him away just enough that the rack and its contents miss him, but the resulting crash causes him to scream again in fright.

Yuuri and Victor both rush into the room moments later to see Pocha curled up in a ball crying, next to Yuuri’s toppled game rack and significant number of the games scattered across the floor.

Yuuri rushes over and quickly picks him up, doing his best to offer comfort and reassurances while holding him close as Victor clears up the mess.

Part of Yuuri wants admonish or warn Pocha about such dangers but he decides to wait a while until he’s calmer. Still it seems clear that they will have to stay close to Pocha for a while, for his own safety, and now their peace of mind as well. It really was not a pleasant feeling to see Pocha so distressed and nearly injured.

Yuuri and Victor decide to put off any remaining work around the house to instead Follow Pocha around as he explores, showing him all the new things he comes across, and offering explanations where they can.

Despite the afternoon not being particularly productive, it is undeniably fulfilling as Yuuri and Victor both enjoy experiencing the world through such clearly fresh and innocent eyes. Everything is new and fascinating to Pocha and every excited, delighted, curious, and cautious little ‘po’ that comes out of his mouth is beyond precious to experience.

Even so, they are glad that finding Pocha happened to hit right at the start of their break, as he is clearly going to take quite a bit of their attention for a while, so it works out well that they are completely free for a couple of weeks.

Makkachin too, seems quite pleased with the new addition and frequently moves in close to sniff at Pochayuu and lick his face every now and then, eliciting giggles and soft pats in rerturn on Makkas head and face.

Despite all his eagerness and excitement at the world around him, eventually Pocha gets tired. He starts moving slower in his quest to understand the apartment and everything in it. His quick little waddle soon becomes slower and slower until finally he gives a big yawn and reaches his arms up for Yuuri with a sleepy “Po”.

Yuuri picks him up and immediately feels the small body snuggle into his chest. He’s overcome with love for the small bundle that quickly falls asleep against him. He looks up after a few moments to see Victor looking on at the two of them with such warm affection in his eyes that it is all Yuuri can do to walk over and let Victor put his arms around them both.

It has been a strange day so far, but a beautiful one with their beautiful little family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Pochayuu wore himself out with all the excitement, it's time for a nice little nap. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this installment! Thank you all for reading!!   
> I love hearing form you, even if it's just to cry over Pocha's absolutely perfect cuteness, so please feel free to leave a comment to tell me what you thought. 
> 
> Have a great week! I'll be back with more before you know it!!


	5. Naptime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So happy everyone seems to be enjoying this so far! Here is your weekly dose of super sweet Pochayuuri!! (Remember to brush your teeth promptly after reading ~_^)

“Where should we put him?” Yuuri asks, still holding a sleeping Pochayuu in his arms, knowing he can’t simply carry Pocha around all day, much as he may like to.

“We can build a little nest for him on the guest bed for now, but we should probably go out and do some shopping tomorrow for supplies, maybe we can find some better bedding options then,” Victor answers before dropping a kiss onto Yuuri’s forehead and heading off to the linen closet to pick out some extra blankets and pillows for the makeshift nest he’s planning.

Yuuri wants to help in constructing a small nest from the blankets and pillows that will keep Pocha comfortable and safe while he naps, but lets Victor do most of the work to avoid Pocha being jostled too much.

Once it’s ready Yuuri carefully shifts the small bundle so he can gently place him in the center of the the cozy space they made for him. He carefully removes the small pair of glasses too, and places them just outside the nest.

“He looks so peaceful,” Yuuri says, smiling.

Victor nods, but then stops abruptly, “Oh, there’s one more thing I want to get and then it will be perfect,” he says quickly before rushing out of the room, leaving Yuuri a bit stunned by the sudden outburst but this isn’t really that unusual for Victor so he just waits until the other man comes back a minute later with a plushie of Yuuri that a fan had made and thrown on the ice at a competition during the last season.

Yuuri goes pink as he watches Victor place the soft doll in with Pocha and tuck them both under a small blanket. A few seconds later, Pocha takes the doll in his arms and pulls it in tight in a hug, a small breathy sigh escaping as he snuggles into the doll.

It’s a bit embarrassing but Yuuri can’t deny the image is incredibly cute, with the resemblance of Pocha and the doll being so similar.

“You should take a picture,” he whispers over to his fiancé who looks like he’s about ready to cry.

“Ah,” Victor gasps, “You’re right! We have to start documenting the new member of our family right away, I don’t want to forget a moment!” He whispers loudly before rushing out again to get his phone.

Once plenty of pictures have been taken and Victor has uploaded a few to his social media Yuuri pulls on his arm, “C’mon, we need to get started on this laundry, then I’ll make dinner while you make a list of what we need to buy tomorrow.”

They manage to finally make a little progress on the chores for the day before Pocha wakes up a little over an hour later, rested, happy, and very hungry.

 

 

He wakes up slowly from his second nap of the day, and immediately feels happy and safe. He feels softness all around him and he knows he must be in a good place.

He is so comfortable that it is hard to wake up but he can hear his tummy telling him that he needs to eat soon.

Still, he doesn’t move quite yet, he just snuggles in closer to the softness surrounding him, enjoying the sensations a little longer. It isn’t long though, before he opens his eyes and slowly rolls into a sitting position, taking in the room around him. He remembers this room a little, the big ones, Yuuri and Victor, showed it to him before. After a few seconds taking in the space around him he finally looks to the soft thing still held between his paws, that he has continued to cling onto since waking.

He blinks at it a moment before he realizes it is a small Yuuri, made of the same kinds of soft things like those surrounding him now. He looks into the smiling face of the doll and smiles back, hugging it close once again with a soft ‘po po po’.

When he pulls away again he places one paw gently on the dolls nose, just as he had done to the real Yuuri earlier that day. Then he take the paw and touches his own nose, knowing he chose his appearance to reflect this nice good person who has brought him to a good place and will probably give him more good food.

A second later however, he realizes something is missing. He looks at the doll, where the distinct blue glasses sit on it’s face and then he touches his face again, realizing the glasses he was wearing are not there.

He begins to panic and cry in distress, “Po po po Pocha!!” as he looks frantically around him trying to see if they fell off nearby. He had made them so carefully to match the ones on Yuuri’s eyes, he can’t have lost them so soon, they must be nearby, they must be.

He doesn’t get to panic long because a moment later the door is flying open revealing his two new friends.

He immediately reaches up as Yuuri gets close large tears falling down his cheeks and he hopes that Yuuri can help him.

Yuuri lifts him quickly into his arms, checking him for any obvious injury while trying to rock him in what he hope is a comforting manner, “Pocha, what’s wrong? What happened? Are you okay?”

The worry is clear in Yuuri’s voice and Victor stands anxiously at Yuuri’s shoulder also trying to see if Pocha has been injured, but resisting the impulse to reach out to check himself. However, Pocha seems fine, by all appearances, and nothing in the room seems amiss.

“Po,” Pocha says sadly, tapping Yuuri’s glasses with his paw and then moving his paw back to his own, empty face, “P-p-po!” he laments, as a new set of tears rolls down his cheeks.

Yuuri is confused for a second, but understanding dawns quickly. “Pocha, is this because of your glasses?” he asks carefully, hoping his suspicions are correct.

“P-po,” Pocha hiccups in answer with a nod.

With a sight of relief he pulls Pocha in to his chest, cradling him, “Oh Pocha, don’t cry, it’s okay, I just took your glasses off while you slept so you wouldn’t accidentally break them.”

He reaches out a hand for the glasses Victor had fetched in the interim. He takes them and lets Pocha see them, “Here you are.”

Pocha pulls his face away from where he’d buried it against Yuuri’s shoulder and turns to look at what he’s holding.

He sees the familiar blue frames and immediately smiles, “Po!!” He shouts excitedly, so happy and relieved to see them found and safe.

Victor appears then, holding a tissue, “Let’s dry those eyes then, and you can put your glasses back on, okay?”

Pocha nods vigorously, lifting his paws to wipe at his eyes, but Victor soon moves in to gently soak up the remaining moisture. Pocha closes his eyes and enjoys the gentle and loving attention.

“There we go, all better,” Victor says once he’s done and gently touches Pocha’s face as he opens his eyes. “Do you feel better now?”

“Po,” comes the soft but clearly happier reply.

Victor steps back then to allow Yuuri to now place the small glasses back on Pocha’s face.

Pochayuu uses his own paws to help guide the glasses back on as Yuuri places them carefully on his face.

Once they are settled in place he blinks a few times, looking at the world around him through the lenses once more. He raises his paw to confirm they are there and he smiles, big and bright, at both of his good friends.

“Po!” he says in gratitude. Yes, he made a good choice and he is now with good people. He is happy.

“Ok little Pocha, are you ready for some dinner then?” Yuuri asks, smiling back and the still beaming creature in his arms.

“Po po!!” came the immediate reply, the meaning of which needed no interpretation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, Pochayuuri is so cute, writing him makes me cry. How did something so perfect ever come to be?
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this weeks chapter! Comments and kudos make my day and I always love hearing from you, even if it's just your *killed by cuteness* death throws, which seem to be a common occurrence. I hope you'll be happily revived again by next week though so he can kill you once more. 
> 
> Take care and have a lovely day/night!!!


	6. Washing up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all!! Thank you so much for all your support for this fic so far!! I'm so happy to know our adorable Pocha has such strong support!
> 
> It's time again for me to drown you in sweetness! It's a shorter chapter, but I assure you no sweetness has been spared!! So, have your toothbrush handy and please enjoy!!

Yuuri carries Pocha back out of the room he’d napped in and heads to the kitchen. 

They’d almost finished getting dinner ready when they’d heard Pocha’s cries and there are only a couple things left to do. 

Victor finishes up the last little things and takes the food to the table while Yuuri takes Pocha over to the sink and sets him down on the counter next to the sink.

“Since we’ve had a busy day and were outside we need to wash up before we eat, okay?” Yuuri says before turning on the water, putting a little soap in his palms, and washing his hands. ”Like this,” he says, while demonstrating, and Pocha’s eyes are wide and attentive as they focus on the actions.

Once Yuuri’s hands have been rinsed he turns to Pocha, “Your turn, hold out your paws.” 

Pocha does as told and Yuuri moves the faucet close for Pocha to wet them slightly and then places just a little soap in them. ”Okay, now rub your paws together to make some bubbles all over them.”

Pocha rubs his paws vigorously, eyes widening as bubbles begin to multiply all over them. He rubs them even more, building up a good foam. Once his paws are fully coated in a thick foam he claps his paws together several times, delighting in the feel of the foam and the way it floats off his paws in small clumps of bubbles. 

After one particularly strong clap, a small group of bubbles lands on his nose, tickling it. His face scrunches up a bit as he unsuccessfully tries to wiggle his nose to knock off the bubbles. A moment later he lifts a paw up to scratch his nose, which of course results in him getting bubbles all over his nose instead. 

Yuuri can’t hold back his laughter and he can hear Victor laughing too from just behind him.

Pocha is looking slightly confused now, not sure what to do as he scrunches his nose again against the tickles. 

And then he sneezes.

It’s probably one of the cutest things either Yuuri or Victor have ever heard and a small flurry of bubbles go flying from the sudden gust.

“Po!” Pocha says in surprise before looking over at the laughing couple in confusion before giving another two sneezes in quick succession, causing his face to scrunch up cutely before he raises his paws to his face, attempting to catch the last sneeze in them, but instead only succeeds in getting more bubbles on his face.

Yuuri can hear Victor laughing behind him, even through his own laughter, but he can also see Pocha’s expression of confusion as to what to do about all the bubbles.

Though his giggles have yet to subside, Yuuri quickly takes a damp cloth and goes to wipe the remaining bubbles from Pocha’s face, saving the poor little guy from any further suffering. 

“Come on, let’s rinse the rest of this soap off,” he says, still smiling and fighting to hold back more laughter, once he’s done and turns the water back on and helps Pocha wash off all the soap still on his paws.

Pocha smiles then to be finally free of the bubbles and the tickles on his nose and he gives a quick “po” of thanks as Yuuri rubs his paws dry with a clean towel.

It isn’t until Yuuri finishes drying Pocha’s paws that he turns around to see Victor with his camera pointed right at them, with the biggest smile on his face.

“I am so glad I decided to take video of that, that was the funniest, most precious thing I have ever seen in my life!” He exclaims as he puts the phone back in his pocket and stepping forward to wrap his arms around them both. “My Yuuri and our Pochayuu are already creating such wonderful memories together.”

“Po!” Comes the rather demanding response, “Po po!”

Victor just laughs as he gives them another squeeze, “Yes, Pocha, we can eat now, dinner should be all ready.”

Victor finally pulls away and they head to the dinner table.

“Where should Pocha sit?” Yuuri asks, “He’s too small for a regular chair.”

“Why don’t you just hold him in your lap. I don’t think he’ll be able to use the chopsticks so you can help him with some of the dishes.”

Yuuri stops for a moment and looks down at Pocha who is now looking over all the dishes now set out on the table. Yuuri can feel the excited wagging of Pocha’s small tail at the prospect of food. 

“Okay,” he finally responds, “but I think you should hold him, I’ve been holding him all day, I think it’s your turn now.”

“Really?” Victor beams and at Yuuri’s nod, eagerly comes over to take the small form that is now being offered to him.

Pocha goes into Victor’s arms happily, cuddling up to Victor in greeting with a small ‘po’ further melting Victor’s puddle of a heart.

“Are you ready to try some new foods?” Victor asks as he carries Pocha to their seat.

“Po po!” Pocha answers with enthusiasm, his tummy rumbling in eager anticipation.

Victor sits down and tells Pocha about each dish as Yuuri begins to serve them all. 

“Yuuri made us a special Japanese style menu tonight. He hopes you’ll like it since you liked the onigiri at lunch. We have some salad, some miso soup, some fish, some steamed vegetables, and Yuuri’s favorite dish, made special to celebrate your arrival: katsudon.”

“Pocha!” Comes the excited reply.

“All right,” Yuuri says, “Let’s dig in!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! I hope this could brighten your day a little!!
> 
> As always, I love hearing from you guys as we all die of cuteness together, all kudos and comments make our little Pocha smile, and me too!!  
> Till next time, take care!!


	7. Dinner Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this took so long but I hope the fact that it's a little longer chapter helps make up for that!

Victor and Yuuri had both agreed earlier to start Pocha with the more mild and simple and bland dishes and work their way up to the heavier and more elaborate ones as they got a feel for what Pocha might like.

There had been some concern over health issues but how were they to even guess what might be safe for the mysterious creature. They hoped that he would somehow be able to communicate to them if something might not be healthy but in the end they’d be taking a chance no matter what they fed him. They went with the assumption that, since Pocha seemed fine with the riceball, most normal foods would probably be okay. They’d start with plant-based foods first and then try the fish and meat.

They sit down at the table and this time Yuuri has his phone out, camera at the ready to capture Pocha’s first bites of all the new foods.

Victor holds Pocha in one arm, and chopsticks in the other hand.

“Ok, let’s start off with something simple,” he says reaching to pick up some of the steamed vegetables. “Now if you don’t like something, that’s okay, we have a lot of choices, so just let us know if anything isn’t good for you.”

Pocha’s tail is wagging happily as he sees the food approaching on the two slender sticks, his mouth opening wide for the bite.

Victor and Yuuri watches him close his mouth around the two sticks, remove the food from their grip, and then begin to chew.

He chews quietly for a few seconds and swallows.

“How was that?” Victor asks, curious to see Pocha’s reaction.

“Po,” comes the response in a fairly non-committal tone.

Yuuri laughs. “I guess he isn’t a big fan of diet food either.”

Victor tries a bit of salad next, and though Pocha opens wide for the bite of greens and tomato, he has a similar reaction as he had to the first dish.

“Well, they may not be favorites, but he doesn’t seem to object at least,” Victor says.

The fish gets a somewhat more positive reaction, and he seems to smack his lips in quite a pleased way after a few sips of miso soup.

“Well, I hope you like this next one, Pocha, it’s Yuuri’s and my favorite Japanese dish!” Victor says, carefully picking up a balanced bite of the pork, egg, onion, and rice mixture before moving it towards an eagerly waiting Pocha, who is wagging his tail at the delightful smell and expressing his excitement through a series of quick ‘po po po’ sounds.

Yuuri had taken a few bites of the previous offerings along with Pocha in order to demonstrate the safety of the food in case their little friend was nervous about anything, but now he simply watches on as the chopsticks draw closer to the awaiting mouth. Pocha takes the bite as soon as it is within reach and begins to chew, completely unaware of the eyes fully focused on him and watching for his reaction.

Pocha chews quickly eyes wide and bright. In fact he seems to almost start to vibrate in Victor’s arms, his paws now waving excitedly.

A moment later Pocha swallows only to immediately open his mouth with a loud “Pocha!! Po! Po!” His arms and body seeming to strain forward in a clear request for more.

Victor laughs and reaches to pick up another bite for Pocha, “Well I guess that answers that question. It seems we are a whole family of katsudon enthusiasts.”

Yuuri is smiling brightly too, clearly pleased and relieved that Pocha is enjoying his cooking, and especially his own favorite dish. He should probably be eating his own food but he just can’t stop watching his fiancé feed their newest member of the family, both with big smiles on their faces, his heart swelling with so much warmth and love. He has no idea how this is his life now, but he’s determined to treasure every moment.

“Here’s another bite. Do you like that Pocha? It’s so yummy isn’t it? Isn’t Yuuri such good cook?” Victor is keeping up a steady stream of compliments as he feeds bite after bite to Pocha, seemingly unaware of Yuuri just watching them with a grin on his face.

“Po. Po po,” Pocha says after he finishes chewing, immediately demanding more.

“Don’t forget to eat your food too,” Yuuri finally says after about a minute, “You don’t want it to get cold.” With these words he picks up his own chopsticks and begins eating his own serving.

Victor hums thoughtfully as he delivers yet another bite to the waiting Pocha. “I guess he’s right, isn’t he Pocha, it’s best to eat hot katsudon, isn’t it?”

Pocha nods enthusiastically in response, still chewing his bite.

Victor chuckles at that, “Ok, we’ll take turns then.”

Victor gets started on his own food then, taking a bite for himself and then offering one to Pocha. Instead of finishing the katsudon right away, though, Pocha insists of having a bite of whatever it is Victor has chosen for himself. In this way Pocha also cleans up his dishes of vegetables and salad that had previously sat forgotten after those first bites.

Conversation soon moved on to plans for the next day and where they would go to find the supplies they wanted to get for Pocha while happily enjoying their meals. Pocha would interject with his own input from time to time, with a variety of “Po’s” in response to Yuuri and Victor’s various comments and questions on the matter. And both men made sure to listen attentively when Pocha spoke, though it took some effort to stifle their laughter when Pocha tried to speak with a mouthful of katsudon, the usual “Po’s” a bit garbled as he did his best to speak without accidentally spitting any rice out.

They were about ten minutes into the meal when Yuuri suddenly stood up, “Oh, I almost forgot...” He left the table. Pocha and Victor continued to chew unconcernedly as they watched Yuuri head back into the kitchen.

A few moments later he was back carrying a small dish which he set on the table, “Kaa-san sent us a few jars in her last package, this seemed a good time to open one up.”

“Oh, I haven’t had these since we were in Hasetsu last time, tell her thank you!”

Pocha simply watches through the course of this exchange before training his eyes on the new dish sitting in the center of the table. A pair of chopsticks reach in and pull out something kind of round, and pinkish-red in color.

He follows those chopsticks, and the object between them, with his eyes all the way to Victor’s mouth, watching as the man chews and a few seconds later spits out a round seed.

“Mmm, those are good ones!” Victor says with a smile, reaching for another round thing, as Yuuri does the same.

When Victor finishes his second round thing, he then proceeds to get Pocha another bite of katsudon.

The chopsticks approach him as usual, but this time he doesn’t open his mouth and simply stares at the bite waiting for him before turning his head to look Victor in the eye. This is not how it was supposed to work. He is supposed to have a bite of whatever Victor has a bite of and he wants his round thing because both Victor and Yuuri have had two round things now, and it clearly is his turn to have one too.

“Are you full?” Victor asks.

“Po!” Pocha insists.

“Do you want something else? More soup or some fish?”

“Po! Pocha po!” He says and points directly at the small dish with the round things.

“Oh, um...” Victor says, understanding dawning, but unsure what to say or do in response. He looks up at Yuuri but his fiancé just shrugs unhelpfully. “Well, I’m not sure you’ll like them, they are very sour, but if you really want to, you can try one.”

“Po,” Pocha affirms, making his intentions perfectly clear.

“Ok, let’s see if you like umeboshi as much as everything else then,” Victor says reaching to pick one up from the dish, after gesturing for Yuuri to pick up his phone again. He has a suspicion that Pocha trying this particular food is something they want to capture on video.

Pocha is excited now, ready to try the treat that had almost been denied him and he can’t hold back a series of excited po’s, tail wagging energetically again, as he waits for the imminent delivery of this new and mysterious food.

“There’s a seed inside, so just be careful to eat around it and then you can spit it out, okay?” Victor warns, the chopsticks and the red, round thing suspended a short distance away from the waiting Pocha who quickly nods his understanding and opens his mouth.

Without another word, and with a camera aimed to catch it all, the umeboshi is accepted as eagerly as all the other food and he begins to chew.

It takes a good two or three seconds before it happens, but all of a sudden Pocha’s round face puckers intensely, eyes squeezing shut and paws waving at the shock of sourness now assaulting his taste buds. A couple small squeeks can be heard through the still puckered mouth but Yuuri and Victor can see that Pocha is still valiantly working on chewing the rest of the umeboshi.

Finally, after a few more seconds they see him swallow and relax before leaning forward to spit the remaining seed into Victor’s waiting palm.

“Well?” Victor asks the next moment, “How was it?”

He’s still grinning from the adorable reaction little Pocha had, but he is also honestly curious what Pocha’s response will be and he can see from the corner of his eye, Yuuri is just as interested.

“Pocha!” he says and points back at the dish.

Yuuri can’t help but laugh just as much at Victor’s sudden look of shock, as he had at the sour face Pocha had made. Even so he recovers first to speak, “Do you want another one, Pocha?” he asks.

“Po!” Comes the immediate answer before his mouth is open once again, looking expectantly back at Victor and waiting, tail happily wagging behind him.

Victor just shakes his head with a bemused laugh before picking up another of the sour pickled plums and delivering it to the waiting Pocha in his arms.

The rest of dinner continues in a similar manner as it had before, but Pocha continues to insist of matching bites with Victor until the meal is done. It seems that Pocha genuinely enjoyed every dish, and had no problem eating plenty of everything.

“I think I could really get used to this,” Victor says with a smile, once the meal is done, looking between Pocha, who is sitting happily cradled in his arms, and Yuuri, “I hope this is just the first of many more meals together as a family.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has fan art!!! [Check it out here!](https://twitter.com/chuppiu/status/1031734182773440512)
> 
> Gosh, so sorry to keep you all waiting for your next Pocha sugar rush. Things have just been so crazy lately. I feel like I'm working all the time. I really don't have any days off anymore. And it's so hot I can barely sleep. I'm just feeling so stressed and tired these days and I have so little time to even try to write. Ugh, I hope I can get things more balanced, but I just don't know right now. I'm still going to try to get new chapters out for you as often as I can though. Thankfully these ones are pretty short and sweet, and therefore easier to write. 
> 
> Anyway, have any of you seen those videos of babies trying lemons for the first time? I think I saw one once, years ago, of a baby that gave this super cute puckered face after tasting the lemon, but immediately wanted more. I have no idea where I saw it, but the memory stuck with me and hence the idea of Pocha eating sour umeboshi was born. I'm pretty sure he can eat and enjoy almost anything.
> 
> Just want to remind you that I'm open for prompts. Once I get past all the intro stuff I'm going to start working on the list I have of prompt ideas from myself and whatever you guys throw at me. You can let me know what you'd like to see here in the comments, or you can find me on tumblr too.
> 
> I hope this added a little sweetness to your day!! Have a great one!!


	8. After Dinner Entertainment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all have your toothbrushes ready!

With dinner finished, Victor hands a clearly happy and sated Pochyuu back over to Yuuri, before going to clean up and put the dishes in the washer, since Yuuri did most of the cooking. 

Pocha smiles up at Yuuri, reaching his small arms out to give Yuuri a hug as he pulls Pocha in to rest against his shoulder. “Po po” comes the muffled voice from the small body in his arms. 

“You’re welcome. I’m glad you liked the food,” Yuuri answers hugging the little guy close. “Why don’t we go pick out a movie while Victor cleans up and then we can all watch together?”

“Po!” comes the enthusiastic response. 

It doesn’t take long for Pocha to decide he wants to try watching the movie from earlier again, so as they wait, Yuuri picks up Pocha’s dog book from earlier too, and they can look at it together. 

Pocha likes sitting in Yuuri’s lap, leaning back against his tummy and looking at the lovely dog pictures. The book is more fun now too because Yuuri is there to tell him all about each one and it makes him happy they can enjoy it together. All the dogs in the book are so lovely too, he wishes they could all come out of the bright pages to play with him. He knows they can’t, but he still pats each one with his little paw against the pages murmuring small po’s to tell them how beautiful they are. 

Victor joins them for the last couple pages and adds his own voice to the descriptions of the dogs and they all pat the pictures together saying ‘po’ or ‘good dog’ as they do so. 

Pocha is happy and he can easily tell that Yuuri and Victor are also happy. Makka is happy too and enjoys extra pats, because if the pictures of dogs get them, then Makka certainly deserves some extra attention too.

Once the book is done Pocha is eager to start the movie again.

When the music starts he gets more excited. He remembers the tune from before and starts to wave his arms singing along with “po po po po” as best as he can. He’s a bit off key, and off time, but it really isn’t bad for a first time with an almost completely new song and soon he has Victor an Yuuri joining in.

Sometimes he sits perfectly still, eyes trained on the screen and fully absorbed in the story, but then something happens to get him excited and he just can’t help but jump up in his excitement, sometimes switching laps as he proclaims his feelings, “Po po Pocha Po!”

Watching Pocha watch the movie is a whole experience in itself. Every part of what is playing out on screen seems new when seen through his reactions to it. 

Yuuri leans on Victor, who’s arm is draped comfortably across his shoulders, and watches as Pocha scrambles from his lap over to Victor’s where their thighs are still pressed tight together. 

“Po Po Po Pocha!” he says emphatically, looking up at Victor, adorable in his sudden indignation.

“Yes, he is very bad, isn’t he?” Victor asks, clearly trying to suppress a smile. 

“Po. Po po.”

“Why don’t we keep watching and see what happens, I’m sure they won’t let him get away with his plan.”

Yuuri smiles and catches Victor’s eye briefly as they watch Pocha turn back to the screen, soon to be immersed back in the story. 

The best part is the singing though. Even when Pocha doesn’t know the words he seems unable to hold back the soft ‘po’s’ as he tries to follow the tunes of songs he’s never heard before, gaining some confidence and volume as certain melodies repeat.

When the movie finally comes to the end, the villain defeated and the characters smiling into their happily-ever-after, Pocha smiles up at them with a clearly satisfied look in his eyes from the whole experience. 

“Did you enjoy the movie?” Yuuri asks. 

“PO!” Pocha exclaims in response, his happiness plain to see in his smiling face. The effect is lost a moment later, however, when he is suddenly overtaken by a huge yawn.

“I think maybe it’s time for bed,” Victor remarks once the yawn has run its course, holding back a laugh as he sees Yuuri struggle to stifle a yawn of his own. 

“Po!” Pocha declares, “Po po. Pocha po.”

He scrambles over to point at the remote still in Victor’s hand to punctuate his declaration. 

Yuuri and Victor share a look before turning back to Pocha who looks like he is contemplating scrambling down off the couch on his own to select another movie. 

“Since it’s your first night we can watch another movie, but don’t expect two movies every time,” Victor says, doing his best to sound serious. 

“Po Po,” He responds happily accepting the terms if it will get him his movie right now. 

Yuuri carries him over to select a new movie and Victor puts away the one they just finished. 

A few minutes later, the screen is lit up again and Pocha is held in rapt attention.

The movie starts in a similar way to the previous one, with attempts from Pocha to sing and dance to the opening music. However, it is only a few minutes into the first slower section when Pocha begins nodding off. 

He fights off sleep valiantly for the first couple minutes, shaking his head in an attempt to keep himself awake but soon he starts to list to the side slowly leaning over until Yuuri gently catches him in his palm and carefully lowers the now sleeping Pocha the rest of the way to his lap. 

Yuuri and Victor both just stare at the small creature as he lays there peacefully, small chest rising and falling with his even breath. 

“He’s a miracle, Yuuri. I can hardly believe he’s real.”

Yuuri just nods, knowing exactly how Victor feels. It’s such a strange reality embodied in the small form on his lap, and if he couldn’t feel the weight of it himself, he’d be sure it was all a dream. 

“Yuuri! Look at his little feet!” Victor cries out in a voice barely above a whisper, but excitement perfectly clear. “He has the most adorable little bean toes! Yuuri, how can something so perfect exist and how did we manage to get him?”

Without any answer, Yuuri watches as Victor reaches out a finger to gently touch said toes and a moment later he can’t resist doing the same. They pull back shortly though, once Pocha’s feet twitch slightly. They don’t want to wake the poor thing up. 

They hold their breaths but a moment later Pocha settles again, sound asleep.

The two men look at each other then, and smile. 

“So, where should we put him to sleep? I’m worried about him waking up alone, so I’m not sure we should put him back in the guest room,” Victor comments. 

“Well, our bed is big enough. Why don’t we set up his nest at the foot for now. We can talk with him about it and figure out something better while we’re out shopping for supplies tomorrow.”

Victor readily agrees and, after bestowing his fiancé with a quick kiss, he’s up and heading off to begin moving everything. 

Yuuri watches Pocha for a little longer before carefully picking him up. 

Pocha is soon tucked in with his Yuuri plushie on one side and the addition of a Victor plushie that Yuuri has, on the other. 

Their evening routines are periodically interrupted by the urge to simply watch the adorable form of their new family member, but they do finally manage to get everything done. 

They bestow long loving looks at the sleeping Pocha curled up in his makeshift nest and gently stroke his head, nearly crying when they see him smile at the gesture.

Finally they tear their eyes away and climb into bed themselves with a sense of peace and satisfaction that can only come from the knowledge that the days ahead are going to be good ones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate that I'm so busy that even one of these short chapters take me an age to complete. 
> 
> Their first day is now complete. I expect time to pass a little more quickly in the story now and I hope to finally bring in Pomvik in the near future. I hope you're looking forward to it as much as I am!
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this dose of sweetness. I hope it could add some brightness to your day!  
> Take care!!


	9. Morning Discoveries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've finally got the next chapter finished!!! Hope you all enjoy!!!  
> (And keep those toothbrushes handy!)

The next morning Yuuri wakes slowly but with a great sense of satisfaction and warmth, as though all is right with the world and the day ahead is full of promise. 

He doesn’t try to open his eyes but instead slowly allows sleep to fade away as he slowly becomes more aware of his surroundings. 

He feels warm weight on him and he recognizes the feeling of his fiancé’s body cuddled up against him, body pressed in close to his side and slightly on top, head tucked in to his neck, arm draped across his middle. 

It’s rare for him to wake up first so he lets himself just bask in the sensation for a moment before he realizes there is another weight on his chest that is less familiar, if no less warm and comfortable. 

He cracks an eye open, lifting his head slightly to get a view of the extra weight.

His head almost immediately falls back to the pillow, eyes squeezed shut as he does his best to restrain the urge to express his utter delight in either sound or movement so as not to disturb either of the sleeping bodies he’s supporting. 

Once he’s got himself back under control he looks again. The familiar position of Victor against him, so close that soft strands of silver tickle delicately at Yuuri’s neck. That alone could be credited for his perfectly content waking, but his gaze now lands on the small round body of Pochayuu who is also laying on his chest, not far from where Victor’s head lays. His small head is tucked in almost under Yuuri’s chin so that he can’t really see the little guy’s face, but he can feel the gentle rise and fall of the still sleeping form.

He leans his head back once more, smile beaming to the ceiling with how perfect the moment is, his heart full of love. 

Eager to share the moment, he begins softly running his fingers through soft silver, knowing Victor can’t be far behind him in waking, as he usually is the first to rise. 

“Yuuri?” Victor murmurs, proving him right a short time later. Victor’s still half asleep, but his arm tightens around his middle in an attempt to cuddle closer.

“Good morning love,” he answers, gently scratching his nails over Victor’s scalp in the way he likes causing him to practically start purring as he leans in to kiss at Yuuri’s neck. 

“Careful,” Yuuri whispers, trying not to giggle at the slight tickle of soft, barely there kisses along his neck and jaw, “Don’t disturb the little one.”

“Huh?” Victor responds, head still a little muddled from sleep, but a moment later he’s opening his eyes to get a look at the small shape that’s only a couple inches from his own face. 

He’s more careful now as he shifts around Yuuri so that he’s at a better angle to take in the situation, lifting his head and putting his weight onto his side to take in what must be one of the most perfect scenes he could ever imagine. 

“Can you grab my phone for me?” Yuuri asks in a whisper, pulling Victor’s gaze back to the beautiful brown eyes of the man beside him. 

A moment later Yuuri is holding the phone out to catch yet another photo of them with their precious new addition.

Once they are done with that though comes the question of what to do next.

“Should we try to move him back to the nest and let him finish sleeping?” Victor asks, studying the two perfect creatures laying in bed with him.

“Well, I hate to disturb him but I’m going to have to get up soon, if only to go to the bathroom, so I guess we have to try.”

Not a moment later and Makkachin comes strolling into the room after hearing that his people are awake, and not wanting to be left out of this happy morning gathering. He hops onto the bed, with surprising lightness for such a large dog, And before anyone can say another word begins cheerfully greeting all the bed’s inhabitants with morning kisses. 

After greeting his wonderful people, Makkachin makes sure not to leave out his new small friend either. 

Almost immediately there’s a surprised squeek filling the air followed by an equally shocked “PO!” As the small curled up body unfurls with a start and promptly rolls off of Yuuri’s chest. 

Fortunately he doesn’t fall more than an inch, right into Yuuri’s palm that moves automatically to catch the poor creature so abruptly awoken. The little guy recovers quickly though, as Makka continues to bestow morning kisses, and soon begins to giggle, letting out small laughing ‘po’s’ until Victor finally saves him by pulling Makka away.

“C’mon Makka, let’s get some breakfast for you,” Victor says as he nudges the big fluffy body off the bed towards the door before leaning over to give Yuuri a quick good morning kiss and Pocha a gentle pat before heading out the door to take care of Makkachin. 

With Victor gone, Yuuri now turns his full attention back to the Pocha still in his hands, he shifts carefully to an upright sitting position before smiling and pulling Pocha in for a hug. 

“Good morning, Pocha!” 

His smile only widening as he feels the small arms stretch in their best effort to return the hug. 

“Did you sleep well?” He asks next. 

“Pocha!”

-

A short time later Yuuri and Pocha walk into the kitchen where Victor has already pulled out various dishes and ingredients. 

Victor looks up to see his still slightly sleep mussed fiancé, dressed in his usual swears, and carrying a plump and smiling Pocha, glasses back on his face and small tail wagging cheerfully. His heart feels like it’s ready to burst with love at the beautiful image before him!

“Why don’t you and Pocha take Makka for his walk and I’ll get breakfast ready for us?” He asks, beaming at them. “Oh, and why don’t you see if that puppy carrier thing will fit Pocha? That should make it easier to carry him.”

For a moment, Yuuri thought it might actually be better to leave Pocha here to watch Victor, but after remembering the accidental mischief he’d gotten up to the day before, he realized leaving him without proper supervision could lead to trouble. And if he did in fact fit in the puppy carrier… Well, Pocha may be small, but carrying him around for an extended period might be a challenge. 

The puppy carrier in question had been a gift from some acquaintance of Victor’s who apparently had been oblivious to the fact that Makkachin was not a lap dog. It had been sitting in the closet ever since. Yuuri had heard this story after finding the carrier while cleaning, but it had just gone right back into the closet again. 

He goes to the closet with Pocha in his arms and retrieves the item before returning with both to the dining table. 

The carrier itself is rather simple, basically a slightly padded shoulder-bag that closes enough to keep a small dog secure, but allows for the head to stick out.

It’s obvious that whoever gave this to Victor, had never actually met Makkachin, but for Pocha it should offer plenty of space. Yuuri sets Pocha on the table briefly as he slings the bag over his shoulder, adjusting its position and opening it up. 

“C’mon Pocha, let’s try this out. Climb in and if it’s comfortable we can take a walk”

Pocha looks curiously at the bag now propped on the table, opening held wide by Yuuri. He walks over looking at the strange pouch. It looks warm and soft inside though, and he trusts Yuuri so he carefully clambers inside so that he is standing in the bag and then looks up to Yuuri, expectantly. 

Yuuri then adjusts the bag and closes it enough to keep Pocha secure, but allow plenty of space for his head and arms to fit through the opening, before removing the bag from the table carefully, testing how Pocha’s weight sits inside.

“How does that feel? Are you comfortable? Can you move and breathe okay?”

Pocha moves around in the bag, giving a little turn and shifting his weight experimentally, making sure to give the bag a thorough inspection before looking back up at Yuuri, watching his every move. 

“Po!” he announces confidently, declaring his satisfaction with the accommodation.

With that taken care of, the three of them are on their way out the door. Well, after Victor finishes taking a few more photos, that is.

It’s a cool, brisk morning with the sun shining. Yuuri can’t imagine a better morning for a walk with Makkachin and Pocha happily at his side. It only gets better when he starts to hear soft musical ‘Po’s’ coming from his side, the sound of Pocha singing one of the songs from the previous evening. He looks down to see Pocha smiling happily as he looks out at the world, singing and head bobbing in rhythm.

Yuuri decides to take a path through the park this morning. They don’t always go by the park for Makka’s walks, but he has a feeling it will be nice for Pocha to revisit the familiar place, make sure he knows it’s close in case he ever feels homesick.

His instinct proves to be a good one when the park comes into view and Pocha clearly becomes excited, “Pocha pocha!! Po po pocha po!!” 

“Yes, Pocha, we’re back at the park,” he answers with a happy laugh at Pocha’s obvious excitement, “I thought you might like a short visit this morning.” 

A couple minutes later they arrive at the park. “Would you like to get out and play with Makkachin for a bit?” he asks as he stands not too far off from where they had met Pocha the first time, less than a day before.

The happy response leaves no doubt to little Pochayuu’s wishes and with another laugh Yuuri lifts him out of the pouch at his side to set him carefully down on the grassy ground. 

”Here, why don’t you take this and play with Makka for a while,” he says next, handing a ball to Pocha. It looks large between his two paws, but Pocha takes it with an excited “Po!”

The first couple of throws don’t go far, but after a little practice Pocha seems to figure out the best way for him to grip the ball so he can throw it a good distance. Yuuri, is actually a little impressed. 

It isn’t long before Pocha is even teasing Makka with the ball, feinting and running in different directions with the ball in his paws before throwing it over Makka’s head and laughing as the large dog leaps after it, before bringing it back and dropping it at Pocha’s feet while Pocha cheers and pats Makka in reward for the successful fetch. 

Yuuri watches all this with a huge smile on his face, he absolutely can’t contain, and snaps plenty of photos and video to share with Victor later, all while encouraging both in their antics. It’s too bad Victor isn’t here, but somehow he has a feeling they will have plenty more moments like these to share. 

This continues for a couple of minutes, before Yuuri suddenly hears a sound like Pocha usually makes, but somehow different too. 

He looks over at where Pocha is standing, trying to determine if it was indeed just the little guy, only to see him suddenly freeze, ears perked. “Po?” comes the soft response. And then Yuuri hears the sound again, something that sounds like ‘pomu’? 

He barely has time to register this, or the fact that the voice sounds like it’s coming from somewhere behind him, somewhere back towards the large tree a short distance away, when he sees Pocha suddenly spin around in place, eyes wide, ears high, and then give his loudest “PO!” yet.

Startled by the sound, Yuuri’s head turns only slightly faster than the amazing speed Pocha is suddenly moving towards the source of the sound behind him, right into the arms of a slightly taller form, with strangely familiar silver hair, the rest of him currently obscured by the form of Pocha being held tightly against the new-comer. The excited “Po po po po po” is muffled slightly by how tightly he is pressed into the hug of the unexpected new arrival and is answered with a similarly happy “Pomu!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who has left kudos and especially comments, it always makes me so happy to see them!!! 
> 
> I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond to everyone though, I've just been so busy and generally stressed. I'm trying to rebalance a bit and I'm feeling better, but I can't cut back on my work much since I have a big expense coming up. Gonna do my best though and keep chipping away at my writing projects as I can. 
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed the chapter and that it could brighten your day a bit! Pomvik has finally arrived!!! We'll get to learn more about his story and his connection to Pochayuuri in the next chapter. I've already got the ideas down in my head, just got to get it put into words. I think you'll like it though, so I hope you'll look forward to it!!
> 
> Take care!!


	10. Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The origins of Pochayuuri and Pomvik

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after the last chapter I just felt a need to get this part of the story out and it came out surprisingly fast, considering how the last couple months have gone. 
> 
> I really like the story I've created for them and I hope you like it too. There's a bit of angst in here, but don't worry, you will soon melt at the gooey fluff, so toothbrushes ready everyone!

He wakes to the rustle of leaves around him and the sun upon him. The new life of Spring awakens as he does, drinking in the beautiful warmth of the sun and the softness of the spring breeze.

He begins to hear the birds as they come to perch upon the wide branches. More and more he wakes to the sounds of life all around, out into the world stretching out beyond the scope of the branches.

He wakes among these branches, drinking in every sign of life that filters through the lush canopy of leaves and lets each soft sigh of springtime breathe life back into his being as he becomes more and more aware of this new world around him.

As he wakes, he slowly remembers. He sees the world around him and marvels at it’s transformation.

Not that he remembers everything, but he can feel how difference everything is. Everything feels more alive, in many ways, and yet also more peaceful.

More than that, he can feel how strong the tree has become. Through the long years of their sleep it has flourished so that it would take an immense force to damage it significantly. They had succeeded in that at least.

It is hard to look back on those days so long ago, but it only makes him all the more grateful for the strength of their tree now, and the peace of the world around them, the laughter and smiles of the people, rather than the violence and screams…

 

* * *

 

He had once lived in a tree some distance away. His tree had quite a few rings, but it was far from being an old tree. Still, it’s roots were strong and it’s branches drank in their fill of sunlight. It stood tall and proud among it’s fellows, a forest of living green spreading out farther than he could perceive.

And then war came.

He remembers little of the events that happened throughout their forest but he knows he saw and felt the deaths of many trees around them. Some cut down for firewood, others simply burned as battles ravaged through, fires spreading across branches, dry from the little rain that season.

His tree, nearly met a similar fate, but he was able to save one strong branch and carry it away with him. Away from the fighting and fire. But it was a desperate act. There was nowhere to go, the forest was dying all around him and the branch would not last long and could not hope to take root on its own. Death was almost a certainty.

He wandered further and further from the place he had called home for so long, feeling lost, alone, broken. He began to think that the best he could do would be to wait until the morning and find a sunny place where he and his branch could wait, drinking in those sweet rays of light, until they finally would fade from the world.

It was about this time that he heard crying. A soft, and deeply sad sound. It tore at him to hear it, all the more because it mimicked the feeling in his own being so well.

He began to move towards the sound on instinct, not sure what he would find, and not knowing what he would do once he reached the source of the sound, but he was drawn inexorably in it’s direction.

What he found was a spirit, and what was left of it’s tree was badly damaged. It was a young tree too, perhaps only a dozen or two rings. It would have still been fighting to reach for a fair share of sunlight. Now though, there was nothing left to give it competition, and yet, there were no branches left to take in any of the life-giving light. Only a small broken fragment of the trunk remained above the ground and Victor could tell that the roots did not go so deep. This tree was as doomed to death has he was.

He slowly made his way towards the equally broken spirit, making sure not to startle it. The spirit was clearly weak, and hardly seemed to notice him as he approached, only continuing to cry weakly.

He finally settled himself, and his branch next to the other spirit. Perhaps they would die soon, but at least they would not be alone. Maybe that would be comfort enough.

He moved closer, hoping to give some comfort just by being there. And finally the small spirit reacted by closing the final distance between them.

Together they sat through the night, waiting to greet what might be their last day of light together. They stayed close, sharing their last sparks of life with each other as they waited for the sun to rise.

He could feel the life in the light as it touched the small tufts of leaves on his branch, but with no roots, he knew the light could do little to sustain them. The poor tree beside him though, could not even take in any of the light, barely even seemed to notice the sun’s rising. The young one looked up to the sky but it seemed almost as if they were blind, yet searching for something they knew should be there. It hurt deeply to see it.

But then the smaller tree moved, never losing contact with him, but slowly shifting to where his branch lay, at his side, leaves turned to catch as much light as possible. He could feel the soft touch of the small tree’s spirit upon the leaves, soft as the lightest breeze and he felt the hold on him increase as the spirit began to cry again for missing it’s own leaves.

They must be so hungry. Who knew how long they had been like this, unable to taste the life-giving light of the sun. He wished he could share even a little of what his own few leaves could provide with the little one. He would give it all, if he could.

Some time passed as he did his best to offer comfort, but soon he couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t simply let this poor young tree suffer this way. He had to try something.

His gaze fell on the remains of the young tree, and then his own small branch, and then the contact that still remained between he and the other spirit, and he knew what he must try.

The chances of success were slim, in fact it seemed an impossible thing, but he would try anyway.

As trees they had the power to promote their own growth. This was how trees recovered from most damage, from storms or animals breaking their branches, or carving holes in their bark. It was still a slow process, but it was enough to even recover from a powerful strike of lightning, or even a large branch breaking free, as long as the tree was old and strong enough.

As they were, he knew he could never grow new roots quickly enough, and the small tree was too damaged and too young to grow new leaf branches in time either, but perhaps together, it would be enough. He was willing to try. There was nothing left to lose.

He picked up the branch and quickly pulled the small spirit with him so they were right next to what remained of the young tree.

He held the end of his branch against what little of the trunk there still was above the ground, and pulled in the other spirit to help him hold it in place and then he began to channel every bit of strength he had left into the power of growth. The little one caught on quickly and despite their weakness he felt their own power join his.

If they failed, it would only bring their deaths that much faster as they would surely use all the energy that remained to them in this attempt. And yet, it seemed for the best, whatever happened. He felt that it would be better to die this way, fighting to live, than to wither and fade with the last of his leaves. At least in this, they might die with hope, rather than despair.

He felt his energy begin to flag but he kept fighting. Soon though, he could feel himself begin to fade, he was losing awareness. He felt so tired and he just wanted to sleep. He still felt the other spirit beside him though and it brought him a sense of peace to know he was not alone, as the sun shone down on their ruined world and then everything went dark.

-

He woke again to light. Bright light. And a feeling of warm fullness he thought never to feel again.

He could feel his branches dancing for the sunlight, and roots holding him steadfast. But he had no roots anymore. How could he feel roots.

It took a few minutes but eventually more and more awareness returned to him until he could move and look to see the small form of a tree rising above him.

As he shifted to get a better look, he noticed the presence beside him. It was the young spirit that had called him to this place with their cries, sleeping peacefully still, but seeming to have regained the glow of life as it too drank in the sun again through the newly growing leaves of the branches above them, his branches – no, their branches.

He looked at the tree again, and he could see the line where the two damaged trees had been joined to form one.

The roots of the young tree were now his roots. His branches and leaves were now the other’s. They were now and forever one tree.

He looked back at the small spirit beside him and he was filled with joy.

They had somehow saved each other, and something inside him knew that together they would not die easily. Together they could grow their roots deep, and their branches high. They could be a home for birds and other tree dwellers. They would provide shade and solace for any who came in peace. And they would never be alone again.

He’d never really felt alone before, surrounded by the other trees, but he had never felt this complete either. Now he was whole, and he was happier than he could ever imagine being.

He felt the other spirit begin to wake beside him and was eager to share this feeling with them. He would take care of the little one with everything he had. They would take care of each other.

 

* * *

 

Waking up again, after so many long years of sleep, he lets the memories return. They had spent many years from then growing together. The younger spirit was still bound most strongly to the roots, and he to the branches, but there was no denying that they were still a part of each other, especially at their core. They were separate beings, but they were also one and inseparable.

The forest never was again what it had been, but they did their best to revive it so that life could flourish again.

They shared all their days, drinking in the sunlight and taking in sustenance from the earth. In the winters, they would sleep and dream of spring. They helped each other to grow stronger every day.

Many seasons passed and more and more rings were added to the tree. The branches reached higher than any other tree they could see, and their roots ran deep into the earth. In fact, he couldn’t help but be incredibly proud of the once small and weakened spirit, now so full of life. They had worked so hard to make the roots reach as deep and as wide as possible, so that their tree could survive anything. The tree itself had grown strong enough now that it was unlikely to ever be destroyed again, but even if it was, the roots could not be, and their tree could spring up anew, if the worst should happen.

But once this growing was done, they both felt that they were ready for a rest. They did not need to be awake and active now. And so they settled into their tree to sleep.

He has no way to tell how long they slept, he only knows the world has changed immensely.

He might have worried at seeing the many people that now passed beneath their branches, but he can sense that they are there in peace. They come to find rest and solace beneath the branches and he is happy to offer it.

He enjoys watching the life below. His favorite is watching the play of the small ones especially, both the people and their companion animals. He loves watching them play together, laughing and smiling.

As he watches, his attention is drawn to one small group. They are a small family, but he feels something kindred in them. He cannot explain it, but he might say that they are two, who are one tree, only they do not seem to have a tree.

He thinks he would like to meet them.

He wonders if the roots are awake yet. He suddenly realizes that he misses them, but he knows soon they will be together again.

In fact, from his place in the branches he sees when the other spirit ventures forth to greet the very same ones he had been hoping to meet. It isn’t surprising that his other half could feel the connection to them too. Not only that, he sees that the other has taken on a form, and it is so perfect. He is adorable in his new form.

He is full of love for the other, and he longs to be reunited. But first he too must choose a form. He watches the small group as they eat and how wonderfully his other half is welcomed. It warms his heart.

Slowly the idea for his new form takes shape and he moves deeper into the branches to make it reality.

It is such a different sensation to feel the world in a separate body from that of the tree, but it is marvelous too. The sounds and light and color and feeling of the breeze, everything, is all so much more focused this way, somehow, and he simply relishes the sensations for a time.

Finally though, he thinks he should go down to join everyone.

He heads down the tree to the ground. Once at the bottom, he looks back up and only then does he notice just how large their tree is, or is it only that he is very small? But then he turns to find his other half and their new friends only to find that no one is there.

Puzzled, he closes his eyes. Through their connection, he finds out that they have left. He is not alarmed, however. He can feel his other half is safe, very safe and being cared for. A piece of their tree is with him too, making sure that the connection remains strong.

No, he is not worried. He knows they will be back soon and then they will be reunited.

And he is right.

He sleeps that night, cradled among the roots, (He had been unable to climb back up into the branches with this new body.) and the next morning he awakens to the sounds of laughter. They are back.

In this moment, he suddenly feels a little nervous to step out and announce himself. He calls out, but his voice is quiet from his nerves. He calls out again, a little louder, remembering his desire to be with his other half again.

Finally, his dearest one turns and before he knows it they are together again. It feels so good to be this close to his other half, embraced and embracing, their arm branches wrapped around each other tightly, his heart filled with joy.

Then he hears another voice and looks up to see one of the people he had so wanted to meet, though _his_ other half doesn’t seem to be here this time.

The tall figure clears his throat, “Um, Pocha, can you introduce me to your friend?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? I really wanted to create something that could potentially answer any questions about PochaPom, how they came to be, their relationship, maybe even why they were drawn to Victuuri. Did I succeed? I'd love to hear your thoughts or any questions you might have too. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! I look forward to bringing the whole family together and letting these sweet puppy-boy tree-spirits get up to some silly antics. If you have ideas for what you'd like to see, remember I'm always happy to take prompts and suggestions to add to my list of ideas. 
> 
> Hope you all have a great day!!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> There's now fanart for chapter 7!! [Check it out here!](https://twitter.com/chuppiu/status/1031734182773440512)
> 
>  
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at [@mayonaka-no-tenshi](https://mayonaka-no-tenshi.tumblr.com) and also [@mayonaka_no_yoi](https://mayonaka-no-yoi.tumblr.com) for YOI only content. I'm also on Twitter as @mayonakatenshi


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